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Slate Aviation is one of those partners we did not have to explain APEX to. They understood immediately what our members value, because they built a business around the same thing: time, discretion, and the quality of the people you are sitting with. We have flown with Slate, we have hosted with Slate, and the Challenger 850 has carried more than one APEX conversation that would not have happened anywhere else. Slate operates one of the largest fleets of Challenger 850 and VIP Bombardier aircraft in the country, running more than three thousand five hundred flights a year, alongside a shuttle service that moves between New York, Nantucket, Westchester, and South Florida entirely from a private terminal to other private terminals. For some that spend summers between the city and the East End, that is not a convenience, but it is how the season actually works. We are delighted to have them in these pages.
For readers meeting Slate Aviation for the first time, tell us what the company does and how you would describe it in your own words.
Slate Aviation is a part-135 private jet charter operation with a primarily uniform fleet — we have three core lines of business — fractional ownership, on-demand charter and a by-the-seat shuttle between New York and Florida as well as the key summer markets frequented by our clients. We focus on delivering a bespoke experience for all of our clients and a level of personalization that you often do not find with the larger charter and fractional programs.
You built this alongside your husband. How did the two of you decide to start Slate, and how do you divide the work between you?
My husband, our partners and I built Slate to meet a gap we saw in the market — we operate a uniform fleet of Challenger 850 aircraft and saw that from operator to operator within the on-demand charter market, there was very little uniformity. Our goal was to bring some of the premium touches and experience we saw being executed by larger institutional fleet operators to the charter market at a price point that would be competitive with most of the light and super-mid jets on the market. We offer a heavy-jet cabin experience with a stand-up cabin, brand new interiors, and a dedicated Slate-trained cabin attendant on every flight.
My husband and I see our roles as a partnership and lean into our respective strengths — I run our operation day-to-day, and Matt provides strategic oversight on key decisions and spearheads the growth of the business.
Aviation has long been one of the most male dominated industries there is. What has your experience been as a woman building a company in this world, and what has it taken to break through?
What a great and loaded question! I would say that being a woman in a male-dominated industry comes with its challenges just like any other — but, from my perspective, I would say that my eagerness to learn from those around me and get my hands dirty has allowed me to develop a level of respect from my male counterparts that you do not always see in any industry. Our company has been, for the majority of its life, a family business; many of our team members lean on one another to help solve challenges ahead of them, and we all operate along the same principle: is this a decision that I would make if my children, parents, and siblings were on board the aircraft? As an owner who works in the business, this guiding tenet allows us all to find common ground and build from there.
What is your role in the day-to-day growth of the business, and how has that role evolved as the company has scaled?
My focus primarily has been on execution — once we agree on a next step or a next growth phase, I focus on ensuring that we meet all timelines and expectations and work hand-in-hand with our operational leaders to ensure we can accomplish the task at hand. In the aviation industry, each day is dynamic, so ensuring that we remain on target for our objectives is imperative.
The last five years have been a period of real expansion for Slate. Walk us through that growth. Where did you start and where are you now?
As we built our fleet of Challenger 850 aircraft, we were surprised by the lack of uniformity in the space, and with Covid generating an increase in private travel, there was a large influx of individuals acquiring their own airplanes, which shrank availability and drove up prices in the market. We had an opportunity to purchase a large number of airplanes from a few of the major airlines that we could convert to business jets — a process that has been done by other operators and individual aircraft owners, but not typically at scale.
In 2024, we opened our conversion facility in Macon, GA, and began converting aircraft with our own STC — an FAA-approved engineering plan that allows for the conversion of aircraft under a very strict set of guidelines and rigorous testing and auditing procedures. To date, we have produced four aircraft, with another 20 in queue that will either be sold as fractions or to individual owners who would have us manage their aircraft. The aircraft we have in queue have been sequenced to deliver every 6 to 8 weeks from now through 2028.
The charter certificate has grown to include a sub-fleet of Challenger 300/350 airplanes to provide non-stop service to our charter clients looking for a coast-to-coast solution and 30-seat aircraft that provide specialized services for the government, sports teams, and bands who are looking for high-capacity airplanes.
How many aircraft are in your fleet today, and what does that fleet look like?
We have 16 aircraft on certificate today — they are a mix of Challenger 850s — our VIP conversions, all-business-class shuttle-configured aircraft, 14 to 15 seat traditional Challenger 850s, 30-seat high-density CRJ-200s, a hybrid VIP/high-density 29-seat airplane, and two Challenger 350/300s that are under management with us.
Most companies at your stage carry a long list of investors. Slate is backed by only one or two people who are close to you rather than a large group. Why did you choose to build it that way, and what has that allowed you to do differently?
We have invested a lot of who we are into the product and company we built and have been fortunate enough to work closely with a family office that has provided us with primarily asset-backed funding to allow us to expand our company. The group of individuals we work with is equally as passionate about aviation and has put a lot of trust in us, which I believe shows itself in the finished product — they have been supportive when we encountered regulatory hurdles and supply chain challenges. It is a very fun business in many ways, but on the flip side, is very heavily regulated — we take our operation very seriously and always lead with a safety-first mindset.
Tell us about your premium shuttle service. You are running routes from New York to Florida, the Hamptons, and Nantucket. How does it work and who is it for?
The shuttle is designed for our clients who fly private but often find themselves commuting weekly between New York and South Florida — we developed an aircraft that was designed for shuttle service, and when we were about to bring it to market, we had the opportunity to acquire the shuttle program from VistaJet and use our all-business class aircraft to offer a premium shuttle experience. Many of our clients will travel by themselves or with their partner regularly and prefer to have a private jet experience without needing an entire airplane to themselves. Most of our travelers enjoy the simplicity of flying with us — they show up to our private terminal 45 minutes before departure, enjoy a light bite or coffee, and ease into their journey without the hustle and bustle of a busy private airport.
During the summer, there is a sharp decline in travel between our primary New York hubs and South Florida, but we saw the need for direct service to both the Hamptons and Nantucket — so now, travel that would otherwise take a full day on the airlines or require you to charter a full aircraft, is only a few hours.
What made you build a scheduled shuttle offering rather than staying purely private charter? What need were you seeing?
We see them as complementary product lines — many of our fractional and charter clients also travel on the shuttle when it is convenient for their schedule. We see that many of our clients are focused on value – they like to find economies when it makes sense for their lifestyle. We also find that for those of our clients with canine children, there is no easy way for them to bring their family members back and forth with them outside of a service like ours.
You have talked about expanding into new verticals. What are the areas you are moving into next, and what is the thinking behind them?
We are continuing to build out specialized disciplines and business lines that support our core operating business — we are expanding our conversion production facility into a more traditional aircraft maintenance and interior completion center to be able to provide bespoke upgrades to clients, expanding our aircraft management business to allow those who have hourly flying that exceeds the needs being met by our fractional program, and expanding our private lounges to become connection hubs for our clients. We recently hosted an Apex event with you, and we quickly saw that our lounges can be a space for our clients to connect and learn more about our industry — I have been surprised by the number of clients who fly privately that want a forum to ask questions for even things as simple as etiquette on airplane.
What does the future look like for Slate over the next few years? Is a capital raise part of the plan, or do you intend to keep the ownership tight?
We are hyper-focused on offering a premium experience to our clients. I cannot say what the future holds, but I think there are a lot of opportunities to expand what we did with the CRJ-200 to other aircraft types, add upgraded WiFi offerings and expand our partner network.
What is the ambition here? When you picture Slate five years from now, what does it look like?
I often struggle with this question, and I think that is because if I were to come back from the future to share what we did, I would like to be surprised by the answer. I think for anyone that is in the growth stage of their business, you spend a lot of time building and executing a plan knowing that each day you will face new challenges, and often, you don’t end up exactly where you started. But, most of the time, it’s better.
Is there anything you want people to know about you, about Slate, or about where the company is going that we have not asked?
Personally, I take a lot of pride in the way in which our team has developed the business together, and my personal hope is that we continue to preserve the core integrity of what we built in a space where the word luxury has become synonymous with expensive. As we launch what I believe is the best-in-class hard product in the domestic charter space, I have spent a lot of time thinking and reading about what hospitality and wellness mean today. What continues to ring true to me time and time again is that at the end of the day, what makes something feel luxurious isn’t only the finished cabin product itself, but it is the warmth and care you provide your guests by recognizing and tailoring their experience based on their needs, as well as the wants they never knew they had. I know that we build beautiful airplanes, but I want to ensure that there is a reason customers can’t imagine flying with anyone else.